First national ranking for WVU Medicine

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – For the first time in the health system’s history, a WVU Medicine program is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report. The magazine ranked WVU Medicine-WVU Hospitals Urology 26th in the nation.

Urology has been recognized as high performing by U.S. News for each of the last three years, and each year it has been the only urology service acknowledged in West Virginia.

“WVU Medicine has set a course to become a nationally recognized health system, and our first national ranking confirms that we’re heading in the right direction,” Albert Wright, president and CEO of West Virginia University Health System, said. “Our urology program has been a consistent point of pride, and it’s only getting better.”

“We are honored to be recognized nationally by this prestigious publication,” Stanley Zaslau, M.D., professor and chair of the Department of Urology, said. “I am thankful for our dedicated staff and leadership of WVU Medicine who have supported our enthusiasm and tireless energy to perform at the highest level for our patients.”

For the 2017-18 rankings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 medical centers nationwide. In the 16 specialty areas, 152 hospitals were ranked in at least one specialty. In rankings by state and metro area, U.S. News recognized hospitals as high performing across multiple areas of care. At WVU Medicine-WVU Hospitals, Cancer and Nephrology were both recognized as high performing specialties.

The annual Best Hospitals rankings, now in their 28th year, are designed to help patients make informed decisions about where to receive care for life-threatening conditions or for common elective procedures. The U.S. News methodologies include risk-adjusted survival and readmission rates, volume, patient experience, patient safety, quality of nursing care and other care-related indicators.